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Research Finds that Atheists are Most Hated and Distrusted Minority (in America)

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ZacD ngon master
http://newsjunkiepost.com/2009/09/19/research-finds-that-atheists-are-most-hated-and-distrusted-minority/


Crazy, apparently people that don't believe in a god are scary. Atheists are the smartest most level minded people I know, and I think its insane that the general population dislikes/fears them...

Thoughts?

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  • JasonLavoie
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    JasonLavoie polycounter lvl 18
    I don't necessarily think they are the smartest... but they do seem to think more clearly... if that makes sense,. I still can't fathom how one can think that NOTHING happens once they die... what a fucking waste if that is true... such a waste.
  • ZacD
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    ZacD ngon master
    I mean if I list the top 5 smartest level minded people I know, they are all atheists. I live life like I believe nothing happens after I die.
  • Frump
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    Frump polycounter lvl 12
    It's not just about Atheist vs Non-Atheist, it's about critical and progressive thinking. It just so happens that people who posses these magicks commonly come to the conclusion that organized religion or the belief in dieties is silly.:)
  • Muzzoid
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    Muzzoid polycounter lvl 10
    because without god what will stop us from killing little children and raping women?!!!!
  • Swizzle
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    Swizzle polycounter lvl 15
    Muzz wrote: »
    because without god what will stop us from killing little children and raping women?!!!!

    My anus doesn't like prison and my penis isn't into kinky shit no matter how hard I try to convince it.
  • Steviant
    Atheists can also be stupid, bigoted, bloody minded, violent, and backwards thinking. They don't get a free pass from all of that just because they don't believe in God.

    However, my thinking is more along the lines of: if they hate atheists more than homosexuals, Muslims and black people, surely thats actually a sign of progression? Distrust based on a distinct disagreement of a core personal value is quite a different thing from distrust based on fear, stereotypes and bigotry. Although possibly i've got the wrong end of the stick.
  • samgriffiths
    They're mad because we have facts on our side :thumbup:.
  • rooster
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    rooster mod
    look we're all jusy hyper evolved monkeys scratching a living on a big ball of slowly dying rock hurtling through space


    hmm, it does sound a little pessimistic
  • Muzzoid
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    Muzzoid polycounter lvl 10
    I dont think it really matters that religion is a choice and that race isnt. Most of social biggotry is lack of understanding People are scared of the unknown. Also, what one of those social groups is most likely to cause change in the every day religious persons life?

    The atheists.

    I am an atheist myself, and i personally find this hate both sad, and a little bit optimistic, because if there is so much fear about, perhaps there is change in the air.


    In the end we are all atheists to most gods, just some of us choose to go one god further.
  • scourgewarper
    Religion was useful for controlling communities and maintaining a loose moral and social order in times past. We're still essentially monkeys whooping at shiny things who need leadership and reassuring that 'everything will be alright' if you follow this, that or the other current charismatic leader thrust on tv.

    Bottom line: there's no more evidence a bearded santa lookalike controls the cosmos than a 5 armed cyborg teapot playing guitar hero on a comet. I personally believe in the force tho.
  • ZacD
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    ZacD ngon master
    Bigotory and hate is Bigotory and hate no matter to what group of people your talking about. Mormons or Atheists its a religious belief.
  • Disco Stu
    No wonder a country where too many people believe the earth is 4000 years old hates
    Atheists.
  • Disco Stu
    Atheism is not a religious believe!
  • Asherr
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    Asherr polycounter lvl 18
    By the time this thread ends/get locked you will see why people dislike Atheists. :poly121:
  • crazyfingers
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    crazyfingers polycounter lvl 10
    The cake is a lie
  • aesir
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    aesir polycounter lvl 18
    I don't necessarily think they are the smartest... but they do seem to think more clearly... if that makes sense,. I still can't fathom how one can think that NOTHING happens once they die... what a fucking waste if that is true... such a waste.

    Just because something has an end doesn't make it a waste. It's thinking like yours that I can never fathom... I don't want to exist forever.
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    i'm much more tolerant of people who don't feel the need to go around shouting about their religious beliefs, but i'm especially intolerant of those that constantly spout their religious non-beliefs

    "hey everyone! I'm an atheist and here's what i don't believe in, and here's why i don't believe in it!"

    what? You're a twat. Hush.
  • ZacD
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    ZacD ngon master
    danr wrote: »
    i'm much more tolerant of people who don't feel the need to go around shouting about their religious beliefs, but i'm especially intolerant of those that constantly spout their religious non-beliefs

    "hey everyone! I'm an atheist and here's what i don't believe in, and here's why i don't believe in it!"

    what? You're a twat. Hush.

    Heya, I'm Christan, I'm spreading the word of god yo. On nation under me. Screw separation of church and state, tis be a christian nation yo. If you aren't Christan, white, and straight, your going to hell, even though in the bible it was a sin to shave and eat pig.
  • CrazyMatt
    I see most people just upset because Athiests know the difference between Fiction and Non-Fiction literature.
  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    There are stupid people regardless of religious belief. You can be a Christian and still be a stellar scientist. You can be an Atheist and still have faith.
  • ZacD
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    ZacD ngon master
    I have faith in me!
  • Havok
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    Havok polycounter lvl 14
    I find Christians (actually, maybe just Bible thumpers) to be some of the most annoying closed-minded people on Earth. Of course not all of them but many that I personally know. The good thing about being an Atheist is that you get to think about all of the different things that could happen once you die and how this universe came to be. That's a lot better to me than going "Oh, so God does everything." That is bullshit. One of my friends in school really believes that the story of Noah's Ark was true and really happened. But at the same time he doesn't believe dinosaurs existed.... Please tell me any Christians on PC don't think that, too.

    By the way:
    closed-minded - not ready to receive to new ideas.

    Sounds like a lot of Christians to me.
  • ZacD
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    ZacD ngon master
    @Havok

    Ask him if Noah swung down to Australia to pick up the kangaroos.
  • Havok
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    Havok polycounter lvl 14
    Haha, will do.
  • ZacD
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    ZacD ngon master
    Lol k, let me know.
  • achillesian
    Frump wrote: »
    organized religion or the belief in dieties is silly.:)

    i'll take your "silly" and raise you one "detrimental"

    Religion has played a major role in almost every single war, If not been the direct cause of it.

    ---

    I have so many reasons i do not believe, and surprisingly enough they are out of principle, not lack of evidence.
  • poopinmymouth
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    poopinmymouth polycounter lvl 19
    Still hasn't resulted in violence yet though. Atheists don't face anything compared to non-whites, non-straights, or even disabled people.

    Hate crime offenses based on sexual orientation continue to be the most physically violent:
    Total Hate Crime Offenses, 2007 Violent Crimes, percentage of total
    Race 31%
    Religion 9%
    Sexual Orientation 48%
    Ethnicity 40%
    Disability 26%

    Violent crimes include:
    Murder and non-negligent manslaughter,
    forcible rape, aggravated assault
    and simple assault.
  • Ged
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    Ged interpolator
    after reading the article Im not sure "hated" is the right word. It seems more like the study was asking "who do you not agree with" not "who do you want to kick in the face". To disagree with someones world views is alright as far as I can tell. As for wanting your kid to marry the people that also have your world view...well thats just logical, not really hatred. Its just saying that the parents would dissapprove not get aggressive.

    I think poop is probably more on the button when it comes to actual aggression/hatred. All these stats are rather sad though. Im a christian and Im always challenged by the story of the good samaritan, I believe we really should be loving our neighbour even when they are the furthest thing from our own life values.
  • e-freak
    Atheisten sind Leute, die einen Glauben, den sie nicht haben, glühend verteidigen. - Ron Kritzfeld
  • Zwebbie
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    Zwebbie polycounter lvl 18
    Religion has played a major role in almost every single war, If not been the direct cause of it.
    By that reasoning, we should accept black, handicapped lesbians as our supreme rulers, because they're the only group that haven't discriminated anyone. And the guillotine was used a lot in the name of liberty, so obviously people who advocate freedom are bad too, right?



    Just out of curiosity, how many atheists here have actually read the Bible (the New Testament, more importantly)?
  • Muzzoid
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    Muzzoid polycounter lvl 10
    Out of curiosity how many Christians have read the Koran or any other religions text?
  • Murdoc
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    Murdoc polycounter lvl 11
    ZacD wrote: »
    Bigotory and hate is Bigotory and hate no matter to what group of people your talking about. Mormons or Atheists its a religious belief.


    No, actually athiesm isn't a religion, just like science isn't a religion, so please don't call it that or capatalize it like it is. Go read or at least listen to Christopher Hitchens "God is not Great" as he can full explain true athiesm far better then anyone here if you are still unsure of what it is.

    Religion has played a major role in almost every single war, If not been the direct cause of it.

    But was it the cause of every single war? No. Of course religion will play part in every single war, because war is about death and religion offers a lot of advice on that. Do you know why athiesm hasn't been the cause or played part in every single war? There weren't enough of them in power to have it happen. The same goes when femenists say "theres been no war started by women" (There has) but most of it true simply because there hasn't been a lot of female regimes in history to do it.


    So the argument is silly.

    I may not stick with the complete dogma of atheism like Hitchens, but I agree with pretty much anything he has to say on the subject; I strictly do no believe in any dietyand the closest thing to god that I could maybe buy into is an infinitely hard to understand mathematical pattern in every system in the universe; but it shouldn't be worshiped or praised, but rather studied, understood, and then manipulated.
  • Mark Dygert
    Researchers have found research that generalizes, to be flawed and skewed.

    Our top researcher on the matter says, "personal experience on a case by case basis is still the best method to relay on when interacting with people".

    - The Vigville Research Institute 9/20/09
    This study was done much more recently and makes sense to me, I think I'll go with it.
    I don't discriminate, I hate all people equally on an individual basis.
  • sicsided
  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    I'm an Atheist, and my mom hates it. She thinks I must secretly be an unprincipled rapist/murderer/puppy-miller, and she can't get through her head that I feel bad about killing a mosquito. No lie.

    Anyway, this doesn't bother me really. Its my belief, who cares what anyone else thinks about it?
    Heck, even my girlfriend wants me to believe.
  • scourgewarper
    Joe Pesci = God. He'd get things done.

    R.I.P George C
  • hellobuddy
    I dont often make myself heard here, but seriously this is silly.

    Atheism is not a religious belief and wouldnt even be an "ism" if it wasnt for the fact that religious people need to put a label on it not to get confused.
  • Yozora
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    Yozora polycounter lvl 11
    Joopson wrote: »
    Anyway, this doesn't bother me really. Its my belief, who cares what anyone else thinks about it?

    Apparently a lot of religious people care. And if you're not with them, you're against them :/
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    Ignorance is reassuring,
    Most people are lazy and don't want to think by themselves,
    hence I guess it's a logical consequense : atheists give lazy people an uneasy feeling.

    I don't really like the athesist 'flag', as it seems a bit too much like a category - of people sure of themselves. Skeptic (aka : curious of everything) seems a better word. But better even, just being : oneself! Yehaa! So yeah I totally agree with Hellobuddy on this. There is no need for a word/category/bookshelf.

    Atheists can also be douchebags, like that Amazing Atheist guy on youtube. I think this one stereotype in particular is bound to create friction. This guy shouts at people showing interest, just because they are naive (but it's normal to be naive : shaking off religious beliefs imposed by parents or social structures certainly is a big task in itself)

    I think the kind of religious people affraid of atheists are the ones accepting religion as a solution. ("OOooh ok it works like that. Cool, now let's go to the mall and have a burger"). It's just so much more fun to wonder at everything. Quantum physics anyone? Spacetime singularities? Now we are talking!!
  • ChrisG
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    ChrisG polycounter lvl 14
    Zwebbie wrote: »
    By that reasoning, we should accept black, handicapped lesbians as our supreme rulers, because they're the only group that haven't discriminated anyone. And the guillotine was used a lot in the name of liberty, so obviously people who advocate freedom are bad too, right?



    Just out of curiosity, how many atheists here have actually read the Bible (the New Testament, more importantly)?

    Yes I have I went to church for 10 years of my life, and I have read the bible (its sucked, although the bit about the boat was pretty cool) why importantly the new testament? I dont understand why people try to distance themselves and others from the old testament, I mean its part of the religion aswell right?
    I suppose the bits about rape, genocide, sexism and homophobic views dont fit in with the lovey dovey world of Christianity today. Its odd how not 100 years ago christians would openly use gods 'wraith' on women children and so on but many are appaulled by thoses views today.



    I just dont understand how people can take the bible (but not limited to just the bible) as fact when it has more holes than a cheesegrater , then again thats what relgion is all about right? Unquestionable faith in appsolute uncertianty.

    Plus I would much rather evolve from apes than be made from mud, or if I was a woman the rib of a man (women must of been fucking tiny!)
  • Rens
    I grown up to question everything and believe in nothing, except Chuck Norris
  • Muzzoid
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    Muzzoid polycounter lvl 10
    When i was younger i used to claim i was a "suprisist", as in i didn't give a fuck about any of it and i just wanted it to be a surprise when i died :D. (because lets face it, noone really knows what happens beyond the grave)

    Perhaps i should take this view back up, as it would make shit a lot easier.
  • Mark Dygert
    chrizz1 wrote: »
    Yes I have I went to church for 10 years of my life, and I have read the bible (its sucked, although the bit about the boat was pretty cool) why importantly the new testament? I dont understand why people try to distance themselves and others from the old testament, I mean its part of the religion aswell right?
    I suppose the bits about rape, genocide, sexism and homophobic views dont fit in with the lovey dovey world of Christianity today. Its odd how not 100 years ago christians would openly use gods 'wraith' on women children and so on but many are appaulled by thoses views today.
    The way I understand it. The old testament was a series of rules, regulations, examples and prophecy. The first 5 books of the bible are the Pentateuch in Jewish faith. It leaves off waiting for the messiah to come back which is where jews believe they are now. Christianity is an extension and overhaul of the Jewish faith. You would not have Christianity if you didn't have Judaism. To know how you got here, you need to know where you've been.

    Christianity shoots off where the pentateuch stops by claiming that system was overhauled Jesus. The rules and regulations where replaced by faith.

    Does the bible say its a sin to carry 3 figs on Sunday? Sure does. But in what section and was that before or after it was overhauled...

    We could get into if I believe all this or not but I'm not in the mood, that's just how it was explained to me. Keep in mind that not understanding something while being inside or outside the group leads to all kinds of nasty things happening.
  • ChrisG
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    ChrisG polycounter lvl 14
    but without the old testament Christians would have no way of explaining why the universe is here nor how humans came about, which is why I always wonder why people distance themselves from it or at least dont talk about it.
  • Mime
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    Mime polycounter lvl 14
    Zwebbie wrote: »
    By that reasoning, we should accept black, handicapped lesbians as our supreme rulers, because they're the only group that haven't discriminated anyone. And the guillotine was used a lot in the name of liberty, so obviously people who advocate freedom are bad too, right?



    Just out of curiosity, how many atheists here have actually read the Bible (the New Testament, more importantly)?

    What atheist do you know of that started a conflict/war ? It's common knowledge that religion was the leading cause of death to many people. It's not a reason, it's a fact.
    And yes people who use guillotines to advocate freedom are bad. What kind of argument was that ? seriously.


    Also, you need to find and listen to http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/atheism-tapes.shtml

    Great people debating about the harm that religion is doing to our society.
  • Target_Renegade
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    Target_Renegade polycounter lvl 11
    Mime wrote: »
    What atheist do you know of that started a conflict/war ? It's common knowledge that religion was the leading cause of death to many people. It's not a reason, it's a fact.
    And yes people who use guillotines to advocate freedom are bad. What kind of argument was that ? seriously.


    Also, you need to find and listen to http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/atheism-tapes.shtml

    Great people debating about the harm that religion is doing to our society.


    Communist regimes don't allow for any organised religion, just the state, and they kill lots of people.
  • Joao Sapiro
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    Joao Sapiro sublime tool
    its not a matter of beeing religious or not, its in human nature to seek conflict and enforce our beliefs upon others .
  • JasonLavoie
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    JasonLavoie polycounter lvl 18
    aesir wrote: »
    Just because something has an end doesn't make it a waste. It's thinking like yours that I can never fathom... I don't want to exist forever.

    I defiantly understand that, I think I came off like a dick on the first post. I'm not technically "religious".... but its more of a stronger feeling that there is something after "death", but again... I think at the end of the day, most of our thinking is for comfort purposes anyways, no one really knows until its too late :)
  • Ged
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    Ged interpolator
    chrizz1 wrote: »
    Its odd how not 100 years ago christians would openly use gods 'wraith' on women children and so on but many are appaulled by thoses views today.

    I just dont understand how people can take the bible (but not limited to just the bible) as fact when it has more holes than a cheesegrater , then again thats what relgion is all about right? Unquestionable faith in appsolute uncertianty.

    Plus I would much rather evolve from apes than be made from mud, or if I was a woman the rib of a man (women must of been fucking tiny!)

    Yeah I agree with Johny for the most part, As for Christianity and war or violence in the past I follow what st augustine said "Never judge a philosophy by its abuse". If you can read jesus' teachings its pretty obvious he didnt expect his followers to go dishing out Gods wrath on people but hundreds of years ago not many people were literate and some priests and people in high positions abused thier power, giving false interpretations of the bible for political reasons. Obviously Im generalising alot here but thats how I understand it anyway.

    The bible describes faith as "being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see"Hebrews 11:1 so its not just belief in uncertainty, there is an underlying hope that can be depended upon what that hope is placed in may vary a little for the individual but its usually stuff like salvation, forgiveness, love, comfort, a better world etc etc.

    hehe being made from mud sounds kinda fun, actually I believe that evolution is a possibility and dont have any problems matching that with my faith and I havent met many Christians that do absolutely stick to factual interpretation of that kind of stuff but thats a whole different boring debate.
  • ChrisG
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    ChrisG polycounter lvl 14
    If you tell someone something they cannot prove but you cannot disprove then the debate will go on for eternity. For example I could say there is a teapot in the middle of the sun,prove me wrong, which you can't. For those reasons lets not turn this into a turing thread
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